Approximately 50% of pregnancies in the United States are unintended and about 50% of these end in an induced abortion. In 2000, approximately 1.31 million abortions were performed in the United States, approximately 88% of which were less than 12 weeks gestational age. There has been a movement toward performing elective abortions in the ambulatory care setting; however this can provide a dilemma in terms of the procedural anesthesia. In fact, general anesthesia for induced abortions has been associated with an increased incidence of complications and death.5